Archive for August 30, 2008

Keeping all in Gustav's path in prayers

Gentle Readers,

My deepest apologies for being away like I have, but had some things come up that kept me away from the computer and wow…what a busy Labor day weekend has been promised, just as I get back on my feet…a hurricane!

With the current news about Hurricane Gustav, I just wanted to ask everyone to keep the Gulf States in your prayers and thoughts…

Photo Credit: NOAA
Photo Credit: NOAA

Isaiah 43:2″When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; And through the rivers, they will not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be scorched, Nor will the flame burn you.

For myself and my family…we are in the “cone of uncertainty” as well and just placing our faith and prayers in God’s hand that no matter what the next few days will bring any of us, that He is and will deliver all through it.

Like many others are probrably doing, we are watching the television and making the appropriate decisions as the updated news come in.

If you can take the time this Labor Day weekend, please keep in your prayers, all who are going to be affected by this phenomenal storm that is churning at this moment out there.

Due to the uncertainty of what Gustav is going to do, first and foremost, keep close to heart that God IS good in all things.

Romans 8:28-And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

Hurricanes, tornadoes, they are a natural part of creation and a natural part of God’s creation and we are reminded of such in  Colossians 1:16-17:

For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.”

It’s just amazing how big Gustav has grown and before time was given to publish this post, it’s a category 5, but no reason to fear for God is in control and just a matter of taking special precautions in this time, listening to the radio and television and making the best decisions and just remembering to say a prayer for all who are in the path and are keeping an eye on this storm.

As for “Sunday Praise and Worship”, I’m going to skip “Sunday Praise and Worship” unless someone wouldn’t mind taking over the reigns for this week.

Heavenly Father, I pray that you watch over the many whose lives will be affected either directly or indirectly by this storm that is churning out there. You are an awesome Father who promises that no matter how rough the storm, how high the waters, You will and always will have conquered the storm that looms in any part of our lives and have seen the deliverance You promise to all who call upon You.

Lord, I pray You guide the hands and decisions of the many officials who spend each minute and hour, making decisions to the best of their abilities to guide the people of their city, town, and county to safety and I pray Lord, that in this time of uncertainty that You help the many who are faced with making difficult decisions.

Even in the midst of this storm or any storms that come in our life, Lord, use this and remind us, that You are always there and are there to help us weather through any storm that comes through our lives, be it expected or unexpected.

Gentle Readers,

For those who maybe in the path of this hurricane or may not know yet, my prayers are with you, that our Heavenly Father keeps you safe, strong and secure in His comforting arms. May He guide your ways and in all things that happens, be a testament to His Glory and love.

It's a Monday.

Ever have a monday where you hit the ground running, feeling like an octopus, yet your mind was still in bed and in denial? Boy, was I having one of those days.

The hosting server was down, I’ve spent most of this morning getting things ready at the last minute due to being away from the computer and not being able to take care of normal chores for the next few days and I couldn’t help but feel like Garfield.

Its Monday

It's Monday

Thank You Heavenly Father, You are there, because it’s so easy to feel like too many chores, not enough time.

I thank God for a great doctor, nothing major, just some things that she wanted to check up on, but it was a reminder how important that we make and make time in our lives and take care of ourselves if we want to be the encourager and servant of our Heavenly Father, that He calls us to be.

Deuteronomy 31:8 “And the LORD, He is the one who goes before you. He will be with you, He will not leave you nor forsake you; do not fear nor be dismayed.”

Even though I am taking some time off the next few days, I will have some posts set up to come up here, but I will be taking a short break this week from participating in memes or actively posting myself.

I’m always feeling like I need to be on the go or doing something, but God is an awesome God that He reminds us that we’re of no use to service for Him or for anyone if we forget to take the time out ourselves and rest.

“For thus saith the Lord GOD, the Holy One of Israel; In returning and rest shall ye be saved; in quietness and in confidence shall be your strength: and ye would not.”–Isaiah 30:15

I should be back later this week, but in the meantime, enjoy some posts that I will be sharing with you, either written by me in the past, shared with me by others or never published and praying that all finds you well, dear Gentle Reader and talk with you very soon.

Sunday Praise and Worship

To find out more on how to participate in Sunday Praise and Worship, come here
To find out more on how to participate in Sunday Praise and Worship, come here.

“Commit everything you do to the LORD. Trust him, and he will help you.” Psalm 37:5 NLT

I was debating what this week’s Sunday Praise and Worship was going to be and I debated and I debated and as I searched for inspiration, in prayer, in thought and through devotionals, I fell upon this verse that seem to keep popping up everywhere I look.

It was just so mindful of what our Heavenly Father just calls us to do after Him, isn’t it?

He doesn’t say, “some things”, or “maybe”, or “probrably” but “EVERYTHING” things.

Everything covers a lot doesn’t it?

It covers when we wake up to when we go to sleep. It covers when we go to work and when we go home. It covers, well, everything.

How is that not great of God?

He could have said,”Commit when it was good for you”, or “Commit when He has time”, or “Commit when you’re able to get that break”, but instead, He says,”EVERYTHING”.

That means, when you find yourself stress…commit it to Him, He will deliver you.

Face with troubles? Commit to Him, He has already overcome it and seen the outcome and will see you through.

Scary boss? God’s not scare of the boss. Commit it to God.

EVERYTHING.

Am I sounding redundant yet?

As you look at this verse yourself, ask yourself, what is going on in your life that you’ve been holding back from God and should commit to Him and take the load off of your shoulder??


Heavenly Father, I thank You that You love us really more than I think we honestly can fathom sometimes that You keep digging and looking not for somethings to take over for us, but You seek everything and tell us, hand it all to You. Not just the big things, but the little things, the things we think are insignificant, everything.

You love us so much that You treat our daily lives no differently than You treated us when we sinned. You didn’t say You will forgive us for some of our sins, or the sins You felt comfortable with, but all of it. The downright ugly sins, the frivolous sins, the inborn and the plain stupid sins. It was all forgiven by You, “Done”.

Thank You Heavenly Father for forgiving me for my sins and helping me find a new life through You,Lord and I pray that You keep reminding me each day to commit EVERYTHING to You and that I stop, picking and choosing what I think is significant to You when in reality, it’s all significant to You.

Be Still Sunday

BeStillSunday

If you would like to participate in “Be Still Sunday“, make sure you drop by “Be Still Sunday” at “Married To the Preacher“!

Sweet Award received from Rebecca of "A Walk Through the Valley"

If you haven’t gone by “A Walk through the Valley” yet…please, please, please, please do.

Rebecca of “A Walk Through the Valley” is a really sweet and faith-filled woman and someone, I call a dear friend.

She truly epitomizes what a friend is and we’ve been through mountains and valleys and floods and blessings (Not literal, but figuratively, lol). So it’s very personal and sweet to find out that she has passed on the, Brillante Weblog” to Sunflower Faith.

Brillante Web Award from A Walk through the Valley
Brillante Web Award from “A Walk through the Valley”

I’m really just flabbergasted, because I can’t even begin how many times, I felt,”Sunflower Faith” and what I wrote is sub-par compared to what I consider to be heart felt, well-written, faith inspired and faith filled blogs, compared to mine and I feel like a child just looking up in awe to well spoken mentors and bloggy friends.

It’s funny and also humbling to just revel in God’s timing and providence. I was, okay, I was moping, there I said it, lol, today because I had felt hurt due to some circumstances that I felt could have been handled in better ways and our Lord, our wonderful Father, pulled through like He always did and in a semi-Godfather manner, took me by my shoulders and shook me and went,”Dont worry bout nothing”.

Okay, He didn’t exactly do that but I think if He was in His funny mood, He would try to pull an Al Pacino impression just to show He can do it better than Al Pacino.

Imagine my surprise to check my email and see a “Hey you” follow by a notice that the Brillante award had been given to Sunflower Faith.

Suddenly I felt humbled and said a silent prayer of thank you to our Heavenly Father and a reminder of what was really important.

1 Thes 2:2-4 ‘…with the help of our God we dared to tell you his gospel in spite of strong opposition. For the appeal we make does not spring from error or impure motives, nor are we trying to trick you. On the contrary, we speak as men approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel. We are not trying to please men but God, who tests our hearts.’

Lord, thank you, I really needed to be shaken out of my mopiness today and be reminded of what was really important.

It wasn’t so much as the award itself that reminded me, but a friend who thought of not even me, but Sunflower Faith and why I write it, to remind myself really, in black and white, well, more like electrons, about the ultimate reason, Our Heavenly Father.

Really.

I have faults too. I forget. I get mopey, and it helps to have those days when God just kinda give me a soft knock on the shoulder and says,”Don’t worry about it, I’m here”.

Rebecca, thank you, really.

I needed this.

Not so much the award, but a reminder of what was really important today because I seriously was worried not about pleasing God and in the process, let myself get all mopey.

So I’m thinking. Rebecca did this for me.

Who else can I do this for.

Off the top of my head.

  • Lynn of “Spiritually Unequal Marriage“. I’m keeping you and your family and your ministry in my prayers.
  • Melly of “Mini Pauses“, mostly because I’ve been txting her cellphone like crazy lately and she knows why. LOL
  • AmyDeanne of “The 160 Acre Woods“, I just can’t look at another Diego cake the same way anymore, as a matter of fact, so tempted to ask for one for my birthday; now if I can only tell my husband without bursting out laughing. He still is wondering what’s the connection between me, Diego and hysterical laughing.
  • Erica of “Amazing Adventures“. My prayers are with you and your husband. Life is an amazing adventure when we allow our Heavenly Father the reigns. Sometimes it gets too much of a thrill ride, but the best part is that He’s not going to take us where He hasn’t already conquered.
  • Denise of “Shortysbear Place“. She has an amazing amazing site and her faith and love for our Heavenly Father, just keeps me so humbled and head bowed. I pray I have half your strength.
  • Laurie of Magnolia Heartbeats. Girl.Just.Wow. Your blog has taken off and I am so happy to see how God has blessed your blog and how beautiful and just deeply written it is. I am so humbled to know you as well and thank God for your mentoring and humoring of me. How do you do it?
  • Joy of “Joy of Desserts“. My dentist loves you. My husband is thinking of grounding me from your blog but it’s worth defying to come back to your site to keep drooling over more recipes. The kids can’t figure out what mommy is making but it’s sweet so it’s gotta be good and if the dogs could taste some of the recipes themselves, they might decide to move in with you instead. Keep up a great site!
  • Gentle Reader, if you are reading this, please please please please, and another big please. This award is seriously for you. Honestly, this blog is nothing without your words of strength, encouragement, conviction, advice and support. I know I’m not the best writer out there and I am surprised if I don’t put half of my gentle readers to sleep, but I pray, through you, and with you, we keep growing in this amazing journey and walk with Our Heavenly Father. Just thank you, dear Gentle Reader, thank you, for YOU.

1930's Marital Scale

So just for a little fun on the side, I thought I would take this 1930′s Marital Scale to see how I rate, and after my husband saw the results and stop laughing, figure, hey, I’ll share the results here.
I’m wondering how good an idea that really is to do that.

81

As a 1930s wife, I am
Very Superior

Take the test!

So….waiting for the mean comments to start piling up. LOL!

Remember, it’s just a non-scientific based test, it’s a non-scientific based test. Take off 80 points and I bet that is my REAL score.

Thankful Thursday


Come join Iris’s “Thankful Thursdays” every Thursday to share your praises of what God has done for you in your life.

Through him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name.
—Hebrews 13:15

Heavenly Father, I thank you so much for being our Heavenly Father. Not mine, not yours, but everyone. I am humbled that I wasn’t worth being loved, but You seek me as You seek everyone and I thank You Father for loving this unworthy soul.

Lord, I give praise to You for leading us into a new direction in our lives. It’s scary yes, but Lord, it’s a lesson in faith as my husband pursues this new job. I can see the change and the refreshing of hope in his eyes, and I pray that You change me and make me worthy to be the wife he needs because I feel I fail, and when I do fail, I fail hard.

We live in hard times Lord, but I praise You that through it all, You are still faithful and reliable and a reminder that we can’t count on economics, on weather or even on people, but You, You Lord, is a solid foundation that You call and plead to all Your children to build their lives, their hopes and their faith on.

Thank You Lord, for just blessing us with Your love and not giving up on us but instead, keep pursuing each and everyone of us.

This has been a quiet week Lord, but I thank You for removing un-needed distractions from my eyes and calling me to re-look, re-evaluate and re-find You because I need that so much in my life. It’s a reminder that there are times in our lives that we have to go through the garden that we called our lives, and prune that which is not fruitful and encourage that which is fruitful.

John 15:2 He cuts off every branch that does not produce fruit in me, and he cuts back every branch that does produce fruit, so that it might produce more fruit.

Lord, I pray that whether our lives bear fruit or not, that through it all, we keep pursuing You and seeking You. Prune in me, what You see and not what I see. Prune and remove what YOU know is not bearing fruit and don’t allow me to judge for myself. Help me Lord bear testament to Your word and to Your Glory.

Word Filled Wednesday-Encouragement

Encourage one another.
Encourage one another.

When we first got Murphy, one of the concerns we had was whether or not he would get along with Buster. Yes, they are roughly 8 months apart in age, so that was a great factor for them, but our concern was too, that Buster had been the “established” dog before Murphy and on top of that, they were both males. Normally, it’s recommended that when a new dog is brought home, to keep them apart till the newer dog and the older dog had time to adjust, but we brought the two outside and let them get to know each other.

Since then, they have been inseparable.

Where one goes, the other follows, but more than anything, I watch them work together and if Murphy isn’t taking the lead, Buster is and showing Murphy both good and bad habits.

What I found thrilling about the two though is the fact that they work together despite the fact that they don’t come from the same litters or even the same homes.

What they do share is a common bond as family.

As I watch them work together, even if it’s playing tug of war with the chewie, it’s a reminder of how important to take the times to be there for others. It could be as simple as saying a quick prayer, just a quick email saying hi, anything to let not only the persons we are close to, know that they matter, but maybe someone we haven’t talked to for awhile or the elderly person we know spends time alone down the street.

There are people around us that just a simple touch, a simple gesture, goes the distance in letting them know that they matter.

As Christians, it’s not an independent race to reach the ultimate prize, our Heavenly Father, but a group race, together as a family under Christ.

There is someone out there, even now, who could use a little encouragement and in that way, it’s an awesome way to give praise to our Heavenly Father.

Can we be blind sometimes?

I was just having a general thought on things. We want to try and see the best in all things and in all people. Who doesn’t?

We want to believe that no matter what people are good and don’t mean harm, but I can’t help but wonder in the process, can we get too hopeful that instead of seeing sin for sin, or life for life, we end up becoming too blind to the reality of what is before us.

Rather than face facts, we make excuses to keep our own selves in the dark about the truth of human nature and in the process not only forgot about God’s guidance, but forget why He died on the Cross?

In the God’s Words Translation, Galatians 6:1 is translated as saying:

“Brothers and sisters, if a person gets trapped by wrongdoing, those of you who are spiritual should help that person turn away from doing wrong. Do it in a gentle way. At the same time watch yourself so that you also are not tempted.”

Basically Galatians 6:1 is saying to take care that we don’t try to delude ourselves or others when a sin has been committed.  There is a way to be loving about it, but ignoring it, denying what it really is, and not even calling it, is just as bad.

Yes we are called to forgive as Jesus forgives us, but we also must not forget what Jesus had forgiven us and asked us to repent of….that’s right. Sin.

How can we truthfully say why He died on the cross and what He died of and stand testament to Jesus Christ if we forget the reason why He died…for our sins. The sins we all have and will commit. The sins that HE died for so we could have a promise of hope.

It was convicting as I read this quote from, the Blind Eye of Love-Seeing the Evil in Others,”

“Jesus died for the forgiveness of sins. If you do not see sin in others, then neither do you see their need of the blood of Jesus. You cannot have it both ways.

When you point your finger at people’s need of the cross, what are you pointing your finger at? You are not pointing at the good in them, for Jesus did not die to save them from that, but he died rather that they might have remission of their sins (Mtt 26:28) . So when you preach the gospel to people, you are pointing at their sins. And that is the loving thing to do.

You may object that no, it is the Holy Spirit who is convicting them of sin, you are just the instrument, and make no judgment yourself. But as God’s instrument you must concur with what God is doing through you. And God is not seeing only the good in people –he is seeing the evil in people and urging them to see it.What virtue is there in your being blind to it?”

Do we sometimes try to love and look for the good so much that rather than  face the fact that instead of helping, we maybe hurting we end up bearing bad testimony ourselves? Yes it’s hard to accept the truth of a situation but it is a two way street.

It would be great if we lived in a perfect world, but we don’t. There is really only one perfect world and that is God’s world and till Jesus Christ returns, the sad reality is that we live in a broken, sin filled world. As much as there is hope, there is hopelessness, as much as there is life, there is death.

And as much as there is lies, there is only one, and one only way to truth and that is through Jesus Christ.

Till then, the truth is that no man’s morality is truly good. Nor is it an excuse to think it’s okay to be sinful as well.

God doesn’t expect us to be perfect and know that we will make mistakes but He also wants us to allow Him to live in and through us and part of that is being open to His guiding word. When we truly believe in Him and His word, the reality is that we learn that we are always going to make mistakes but we can’t expect to much from each other because as mortal beings, as men, we are going to fail.

1 Thessalonian 2:4 Rather, because we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, we speak as we do, not trying to please people but God, who tests our motives.

Here’s a convicting thought, ask yourself if you have knowingly overlook something that you knew was un-Christianlike or bad testament to our Heavenly Father  or just plain and simple a sin,and rather than approach it soundly and lovingly in a way that will bear testament to our Heavenly Father and His grace, we just swept it under the rug instead.

We all probably have at some point or once each day.

That’s why we have Our Heavenly Father. To help us find out how to deal and approach it.

Open your bible dear Gentle Reader. Come to our Heavenly Father with love and an open mind and allow Him to touch your heart, to convict your heart, to encourage your heart how to reach out to others or even oneself and to approach this in a way that bears testament to Jesus Christ and prayfully bring yourself or someone to Him.

We are to encourage one another and not just to each other as Christians, but even as Christians to non-Christians, so they too will know the reason for the joy and hope in our Heavenly Father.

Don’t let fear or blindness hide God’s glory. He offers hope and redemption. And in the end, the truth will set us free.

John 8:32: And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.

Be Still Sunday

BeStillSunday

If you would like to participate in “Be Still Sunday“, make sure you drop by “Be Still Sunday” at “Married To the Preacher“!

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